KNOM Radio Missionhttp://www.knom.org/wp
96.1 FM | 780 AM | Yours for Western AlaskaSun, 02 Aug 2015 17:30:09 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3Gyrfalcon Talk Tonight At UAF Northwest Campushttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/07/24/gyrfalcon-talk-tonight-at-uaf-northwest-campus/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/07/24/gyrfalcon-talk-tonight-at-uaf-northwest-campus/#commentsThu, 24 Jul 2014 20:34:49 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=10746A speaker Thursday night at Northwest Campus is presenting his findings on gyrfalcons, the largest of falcon species. They're white birds of prey, native to the Arctic, that are now at a critical moment in their lifecycle.]]>http://knom.org/wp-audio/2014/07/2014-07-24-gyrfalcons.mp3

Gyrfalcons are the largest falcon species, and the white birds of prey call the Arctic home.

Now halfway through their nesting season on the Seward Peninsula, a speaker tonight at the Northwest Campus is presenting his findings on the animals during this critical time in their lifecycle.

Bryce Robinson is the lead researcher on the project and a masters’ student at Boise State University. And he is using some unusual tools to collect his data.

Robinson explains, “I’ve installed motion sensor cameras in a number of nests that are to monitor what prey items gyrfalcons bring into their nests throughout the entire nesting period.”

Robinson said he installed the cameras by repelling into the gyrfalcon nests.

The project is in its first year, and Robinson will use the data to assess how climate change is affecting the gyrfalcons’ food sources, and from there, how these changes are affecting gyrfalcon populations themselves. So far, Robinson just knows what has been brought to the nests.

“We’ve reinforced the idea,” Robinson said, “that gyrfalcons are very closely tied to ptarmigan as a key prey source, even in the nesting period. And the birds we’ve been looking at have also supplemented that with ground squirrels and shorebirds as well.”

Robinson’s presentation on gyrfalcons on the Seward Peninsula is at 6:30 pm tonight at UAF Northwest Campus.

]]>http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/07/24/gyrfalcon-talk-tonight-at-uaf-northwest-campus/feed/0What Are Those Ships In Nome Waters? Find Out Through AIShttp://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/06/13/what-are-those-ships-in-nome-waters-find-out-through-ais/
http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2014/06/13/what-are-those-ships-in-nome-waters-find-out-through-ais/#commentsFri, 13 Jun 2014 18:48:07 +0000http://www.knom.org/wp/?p=9735If you look closely, you can see a small antenna poking off the UAF Northwest Campus main building. That antenna connects to an international monitoring system, allowing anyone in the world to track vessels moving within 12 miles of Nome’s harbor. ]]>http://knom.org/wp-audio/2014/06/2014-06-13-AIS-at-NWC.mp3

If you look closely, you can see a small antenna poking off the UAF Northwest Campus main building. That antenna connects to an international monitoring system, allowing anyone in the world to track vessels moving within 12 miles of Nome’s harbor. Gay Sheffield is with the UAF Marine Advisory Program and brought the equipment to Nome last fall.

“So right now,” Sheffield said, “we can see what’s in front of Nome. And what we’ve seen are icebreakers from Russia and China. We’ve had pleasure boats. We’ve had Coast Guard ships, fishing boats.”

The antenna is part of AIS or Automatic Identification System. The system started as a safety measure by the International Maritime Organization to avoid ship collisions. The organization requires ships over 300 tons and all passenger vessels to carry transponders constantly beaming out their name, position, speed, and course.

Sheffield explained what lead her to make the AIS broadcast available for Nome: “I got interested, because where else do we find out what’s going on in our backyard? We have all these boats show up. People are talking more about boats in this region. And this seems like a pretty interesting way to capture what is freely being broadcast.”

With vessel traffic increasing through the Bering Strait and expected to continue escalating, Sheffield said AIS allows public access to what is traveling through the region, all potentially affecting marine life and the surrounding waters. The system even has a phone app. But one antenna in Nome offers a limited view of the Strait.

“If we had these in Wales, in Diomede, St. Lawrence Island,” Sheffield said, “not only could we all see in Bering Strait what’s coming and going, but also our neighbors to the west, who may not be able to get this equipment, would be able to look at this website and at least get an idea of ship traffic through the region.”

Sheffield said the AIS also serves as a utility, allowing anyone with a VHF radio to talk with these vessels. Subsistence hunters can tell ships if they are in harvest areas, and distressed mariners can call for help.